Having grown up on a farm and graduating from The University of Reading with an Environmental Management degree, Jack looked for a career that would combine his two passions of agriculture and the environment.

“I didn’t want to go straight home to work on the family farm after university. I wanted to broaden my horizons by working in the industry, so I joined the team at Creedy Associates in 2017,” he says.

“My boss introduced me to the idea of participating in FACTS training. Many of my colleagues had already completed the qualification and I felt it could build on my experience and in-house training.

“The course provided an overview of fertilisers and plant nutrition, including everything from nutrient management plans and NVZ regulations to the use of muck and slurry. This has already helped me in my daily work, when I’m out on farm providing advice,” says Jack.

Throughout the course Jack was tutored by BASIS accredited trainer, Dr Jim Lewis from DJL Agronomics, who he praises for providing realistic on-farm scenarios for the candidates to get to grips with the theory.

“We were taught all about regulations surrounding fertiliser and manure storage and application, with a focus on the recent Defra ‘Farming Rules for Water’.

“This was particularly useful as these new rules apply to nearly all farmers and require them to think more about applications of nutrients from both manures and bagged fertiliser to meet crop requirements, which is something I can help them with.”

Jack is really honoured to receive the award, which was set up as a tribute to the late Professor Brian Chambers. “I was delighted to be nominated, but really didn’t expect to win, it’s given me a great confidence boost.”

Jack is hoping to continue his career development by enrolling in a future BASIS Certificate in Soil and Water Management, to build on the knowledge he has learnt in the FACTS qualification.

To provide our members with the opportunity to shape the future of BASIS membership, we’ve appointed a new committee who will present the feedback and opinions of our members to the BASIS management team and trustees.

We hope this will help to improve our services, while benefitting associated industries.

BASIS has set up a new committee to provide its members with an opportunity to influence the organisation’s future membership strategy, with an aim to improve its service, while benefitting associated industries.

Stephen Jacob, BASIS CEO, explains that this comes following a review of the former committee structure and requests from members to have a direct channel of communication with the BASIS management team and trustees.

“The committee positions have been carefully selected to represent the broad range of sectors our members work in, including everything from arable and grassland production, to amenity and commercial horticulture, as well as pest control and pesticide store management,” he says.

“In late 2018, a total of 35 candidates put themselves forward for a committee position, and voting was opened earlier this year. We were delighted to see that our members showed a great interest in this new initiative, with over 1,250 votes cast.

“The newly formed committee will be responsible for ensuring CPD standards are maintained, as well as gathering feedback on all aspects of the organisation from members,” adds Stephen.

The first committee meeting will take place in March 2019 and a chairman will be appointed. Following this, all members will be notified of the committee’s contact details, should they wish to get in touch.

The elected members and their associated sectors are:

Farming:

Tim Beaver isa tenant farmer from South Lincolnshire, he gained his BASIS qualification in 2002, followed by FACTS and the BASIS Diploma. He also sits on the NFU Sugar and Red Tractor boards.

Anne Filkins is farm manager on a South Wiltshire estate, comprising of combinable crops and grassland. Anne is a Nuffield Scholar and has experience in both television media and teaching.

FACTS advisers:

Scott Garnett is a FACTS qualified adviser with over 20 years’ experience in the UK and global fertiliser industry. Currently, Scott is head of agronomy in Europe for ICL – a role that includes training new agronomists, setting up trials and speaking about plant nutrition around the continent.

Jeremy Hitcham has spent a lifetime in the fertiliser industry, and for much of his career he has been involved in direct on-farm advice as well as more technical work. He is the technical director of Payne Crop Nutrition, a company he helped establish in 2017. He also co-owns a soil improvement business.

Crop protection:

Kelly Hewson-Fisher is a catchment adviser with Anglian Water and previously worked as an ADAS consultant. From a Lincolnshire farming family, Kelly holds an array of BASIS qualifications including: Soil and Water, Plant Protection, Cereals, Crop Protection and FACTS.

Patrick Stephenson currently advises 60 farming clients on over 8,000ha. He also has a role with NIAB TAG assisting in farm research and knowledge transfer. In addition to this, Patrick is a founding member of the Global Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants.

Commercial horticulture:

David Hide brings 30 years practical experience, from work in production nurseries as well as his current role as a Fargro agronomist. He is both BASIS and FACTS qualified; more recently he has been an examiner for both crop protection and nutrition.

Pest control:

John Sage has worked in commercial pest control organisations for 35 years and is also a trainer in the field.

Will Kay will represent amenity horticulture and Chris Oliver will represent nominated storekeepers.

Rat control is changing for the better on UK farms and game shoots. From 2015 to 2017, a detailed independent study has found planned prevention of infestations is taking over from control in reaction to the presence of rats.
It finds gamekeepers leading the way, their use of a planned approach increasing from 30% to 59% over the two years. Among farmers, the less desirable option of reactive control has declined from 43% to 38%.

The period covered is one year pre- and one year post-introduction in October 2016 of the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime, which commissioned the work.

Stewardship spokesman and Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use chairman Dr Alan Buckle applauds the progress but also cautions that it needs to accelerate if lower rodenticide levels in wildlife are to be detected in time for the Government's formal review of stewardship in 2020.

"Underpinning the positive progress identified," he suggests, "the study also reports that farmers' and gamekeepers' understanding of poor practice, which leads to environmental risks, has increased.

"Another indicator of improving practice is declining use of permanent baiting with rodenticides. Significantly fewer gamekeepers employ this practice, down from 44% to 25%. The shift by farmers is much less dramatic, from 39% to 37%.

"While both groups are going in the right direction, this is a concern if one-in-four gamekeepers and one-in-three farmers still consider routine permanent baiting essential today. It is no longer an option under the stewardship regime and new farm assurance standards, so needs eliminating as a routine measure by all users."

Dr Buckle emphasises that the government panel overseeing rodenticide stewardship is concerned not only with changes for the better in control practice but also, more importantly, measurable downward movement of rodenticide residue levels in non-target animals.

"Without such evidence," he adds, "we should anticipate further restrictions on where rodenticides can be used, and by whom. Clearly, this places responsibility squarely in users' own hands."

In response to industry demand and feedback from nominated store keepers (NSK), we are delighted to announce that the online refresher module for Nominated Storekeepers working in BASIS Registered Pesticide stores is now live.

The title of the 2019-2020 training module is: PESTICIDE SEGREGATION AND SPILL MANAGEMENT.

The training starts witha revision of key definitions and facts: what are pests?; what are pesticides and their importance? etc. After that the training covers the importance of information included on a current pesticides label and moves into the segregation rules and spill management.

The training is designed by considering that the audience consists of trained individuals with a range of existing knowledge, experience, and opinions. This initiative comes with all the advantages of online learning: flexibility in terms of time and location; promoting active and independent learning; focused, consistent & interactive delivery of a message; self-passed speed and resource saving (time, money and reduced impact on the environment).

The cost of the training is £30 per individual, the delivery techniques used are slides, voice-over, video, active exercises and a final assessment. The assessment consists of 10 multiple choice questions which must be completed in 30 minutes. The pass mark is 70% and successful candidates will be able to download their Certificate of Achievement from their BASIS learning portal.

If you require further assistance or wish to enrol yourself or a number of your NSK, please do not hesitate to contact Suzanne Mason on 01335 340856 - sue@basis-reg.co.ukorcomplete the online form, click hereto download the registration form.

Warwick Crown Court heard that a complaint was raised in August 2014 that Abel (UK) Ltd was selling a plant protection product containing Sodium Chlorate, a prohibited substance.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also found the company was selling paint stripper containing dichloromethane (DCM), which is restricted under Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

The company also failed to check at the point of sale the paint stripper containing DCM was either being sold for use in industrial installations or, after October 2016, to appropriately certificated professionals, which is a condition of sale.

With the Agriculture Bill set to reward farmers for ‘public goods’, such as healthy soils, BASIS is preparing to launch two qualifications which will arm the industry with knowledge and skills to enhance soil quality, biodiversity and sustainability.

Dr Aliona Jones, BASIS technical manager, explains that the new courses, due to start in early 2019, will be set at two different levels, and candidates can choose the most appropriate one for their needs.

‘Foundation in Soils’

“The primary ‘Foundation in Soils’ qualification will help farmers and advisers to better understand the relationship between physical structure, as well as biological and chemical processes,” she says.

“Farmers are increasingly finding that soil quality and productivity are complementary. So, the training will focus on how farming practices can positively and negatively influence a soil’s functionality.

“For example, it’s well known that the use of heavy machinery can lead to compaction, and overstocking grazing land can cause poaching. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that lower levels of stocking can beneficially return nutrients to the soil.”

Monitoring changes within the soil and assessing trends is another essential aspect of management that will be covered in the training.

‘Quality of soils’

The second qualification will build on the success of existing BASIS modules as well as the knowledge from the ‘Foundation in Soils’ course. It will give further insight into improving the resilience of farming systems through increased understanding of the soil ‘ecosystem’.

“A fully functioning soil with appropriate structure, chemistry and biology will enable symbiotic interaction with plants. This improves resilience to machinery traffic as well as weather extremes, such as the cold spell and drought we’ve seen this year,” says Aliona.

The new courses have come to fruition following a strong industry demand, with organisations such as the AHDB, AIC, AICC and ADAS all playing a key part.

AHDB knowledge exchange director, Dr Susannah Bolton, explains that building trust in advice on best practice soil management is essential to drive forward uptake of new knowledge and innovation in agriculture.

“These qualifications will be vital in underpinning the advisory process, while ensuring that we’re working with the best possible understanding of soil management,” she says.

Stephen Jacob, BASIS CEO, explains that members should visit stand 717 in Hall 10 and present their membership ID card to gain two points for attendance. Those without a card can simply fill out a form with their details.

“Additional points can be gained by participating in the LAMMA knowledge trail,” he says.

“Members should pick up a stamp-card before visiting participating exhibitors and completing an activity. Upon completion, the card will be stamped and should be handed in to the BASIS team at the end of the day in exchange for points.”

BASIS points available at LAMMA

ActivityPoints Available

Day 1Day 2

General attendance two points two points

Knowledge trailone point per activity, one point per activity,up to a maximum of up to a maximum of four points four points

Looking to become a BASIS member?

All BASIS courses are specially designed for individuals working in agriculture, who want to develop their knowledge to stay up to date with the latest technical innovations, best practice guidelines and regulations.

“As well as the popular BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection, a range of qualifications are available and will be showcased at the event, including the FACTS certification,” says Stephen.

“This course will provide farmers and advisers with an understanding of fertilisers and plant nutrition, to enable them to make environmentally and economically sound decisions on-farm.”

Stephen Jacob, BASIS CEO, explains that members should visit stand 2 in hall 2 and present their membership ID card to gain two points for attendance. Those without their card can simply fill out a form with their details.

“Additional points can be gained by participating in the Croptec knowledge trail,” he says.

“Members should pick up a stamp-card from the stand before visiting participating exhibitors and completing an activity. Upon completion the card will be stamped and should be handed in at the BASIS stand at the end of the day in exchange for points.”

BASIS points available at Croptec

Activity Points Available

Day 1 Day 2

General attendance two points two points

Knowledge trail one point per activity, one point per activity,up to a maximum of up to a maximum of four points four points four points four points

Looking to become a BASIS member?

All BASIS courses are specially designed for individuals working in agriculture, who want to develop their knowledge to stay up to date with the latest technical innovations, best practice guidelines and regulations.

“As well as the popular BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection, a range of courses are available and will be showcased at the event, including the Certificate in Soil and Water Management,” says Stephen.

“This course will assist farmers and advisers in managing these vital resources in a sustainable way. It will help candidates to protect the environment while striving for the best yield, which could be key to receiving payments as part of the new Agriculture Bill,” he says.

Six points will be available each day, two of which will be awarded for general attendance, and a further four will be on offer for participating in the ‘Learning Live’ sessions.

Stephen Jacob, BASIS CEO, recommends joining the free educational sessions, to hear more about the latest industry updates and innovations.

“As part of the ‘Learning Live’ programme, I’ll be speaking in the Amenity Forum Question Time, at 2pm on day one. This will give delegates an opportunity to quiz the panel on current issues regarding pest and disease control,” he explains.

“The session will be led by Professor John Moverley, chair of the Amenity Forum, and other panel members will include Ruth Mann from the STRI and Will Kay from Languard.”